Beer Review- New Belgium Vrienden

The latest New Belgium offering from the Lips Of Faith Series is a collaboration with Allagash Brewing Co, an excellent artisan brewery out of Portland, Maine. I wasted no time picking up a bottle once it hit the Nashville shelves.

New Belgium Vrienden (Lips of Faith Series)

New Belgium Brewing Co. & Allagash Brewing Co.      

CLASSIFICATION: Sour Ale/ Wild Ale
ABV: 8.5% 


Smitty's Review: Sampled at 50 degrees. Pours copper amber with a one finger, fluffy ivory head that dissipates to a retentive ring. The aroma is a wonderful blend of cherry, potpourri, brett esters, and flower petals. Medium bodied with a soft carbonation and somewhat creamy texture. Initial flavor of grainy pale Belgian malts that quickly transitions to a moderate tartness, with notes of culinary herbs and sour fruits. Finish is very acidic and somewhat dry, with a lingering acidity and dirtiness on the palate.

This is a solid beer with a tamed use of wild yeast strains. I would say that this is more of an "intermediate level" beer for venturing into sour beers. I will admit that my expectations were very high, since Allagash was involved. Did they meet them? Not quite, but I still enjoyed it. This one is not as complex or cohesive as La Folie or Tart Lychee, which are my favorite New Belgium sours.

Rating*: 8.25 out of 10

Recommended Food Pairing: Shellfish, Salmon, Goat Cheese, White Stilton cheese

Value:   Good. $8.99 per 22oz is a respectable price for a wild beer

Beer Audience: Not for the pedestrian palate. Leave this for Sour Heads and those venturing into sours

Where To Buy:  Wine and Spirit stores with a craft beer selection

* rating system based on aroma (1 pt), appearance (1pt), palate (2 pts) flavor (3pts), comparison to other commercial examples of the style (3pts)

New High Gravity Arrivals- December

There are a few interesting beers showing up just in time for the Holiday. One that I have been waiting for is Sam Adams Infinium ($19.99 per bottle):

Boston Beer founder Jim Koch describes this long-awaited beer as a deep golden, bubbly ale with a fruity aroma and contains 10.3 percent alcohol, more than twice that in a Sam Adams Boston Lager.

He goes on to say, "The flavor idiom would be sort of in between a champagne, a dessert wine, and maybe a Sam Adams Noble Pils. You get some of the body and mouthfeel of a beer, some of the hop character of a beer, but it's very dry and acidic without being thin. And then it has some of the fruitiness -- pear, apple, peach, apricot notes -- of a dessert wine."

 Starr Hill The Gift Winterbock Lager is their first high gravity offering ($10.99 per 4 pak) and is described as follows:

A German-style Hellerbock with a few twists, The Gift is Starr Hill's holiday offering. The beautiful golden color only hints at the fire inside. Made with two-row and Munich malts and balanced with German noble hops, The Gift is the perfect accompaniment to any holiday event or festivity.

Also look for two new arrivals from New Belgium, Frambozen Raspberry Brown Ale (6 packs) and Lips of Faith Vrienden Ale (22 oz with Brettnoyces for you sour heads).

I am off to my nearest Wine and Spirits store. Cheers!

Smitty

Using Wine Gadgets For Beer- Part 1

Vacu-Vin Wine Saver

I hate bombers. "Bombers" are those 22 ounce bottles that many breweries use to bottle their special release and high gravity beers. Why? Because they usually contain too much beer for one sitting. For example- Stone Russian Imperial Stout. It is a great seasonal that we can purchase here in Nashville, but only in bombers. A bomber packs around 600 calories and 10.8% abv. Too many of those and I will end up looking like pre Subway diet Jarrod.

If you can relate to that predicament, The Vacu-Vin Wine Saver is neat solution. Although it's designed for wine, it does a respectful job with beer.  The device pulls a good amount (but not all) of the oxygen out of the bottle. The beer stays carbonated for at least 24 hours, with just a very slight amount of oxidation (but not enough to distract from the overall flavor profile). To get the maximum effect, I recommend you follow these guidelines:

• Use with high gravity beers that have a bold malt base, like barleywines and imperial stouts, as the stronger flavors help mask the oxidation. Oxidation will be more evident in beers with pale malt base, so I recommend just finishing the bottle in those cases.
• Leave the bottle at least half full. Otherwise there is too much head space resulting in less carbonation and  more oxidation.
• Drink within 24 hours. Beyond that, the beer will taste oxidized and stale.
• Avoid using the Vacu-Vin on those rare or prized beers. Drink those under prime conditions to get the full experience.

Now I can enjoy a nice barleywine or an imperial stout as a night cap, and save the other half for the following night. I am finally able to casually drink down my beer cellar, and I owe it all to the Vacu-Vin. Stay tuned for part two, where I unveil another cool wine gadget. I'll give you a hint- it solves another problem associated with bombers.

Cheers!

Smitty
"If it's not craft, it's crap"

Blackstone's New Facility Under Construction

They hope to be up and running in March. I can't wait!

Cheers!

Smitty
"If it's not craft, it's crap!"

www.seansmithdesign.com